Karamel is peeing outside too!!! Please Help!!!

[ganime]

Hi,
Although there is a similar thread about peeing outside litterbox i wanted to post a new thread because "I think" my problem is different.

My 8 month old Karamel has been peeing outside the litterbox for some time. It started after I started to train him to use the closet instead of the litterbox. I went on with the training for about 6 weeks but when he started spraying on the carpet, on cushions and anywhere other than the closet i gave up. I put the litterbox back but now he uses it for stool but not for pee.

My guess is he is doing it as a retaliation. The reason is i think he uses the box at times because he peed outside the litterbox today and 2 days ago when i didn't let him inside the bedroom very early in the morning. He cried for getting in but it was 5.00 am and when he gets inside he bites us and jumps on us and never let's us sleep. So when i finally let him at 7.30 he rushed in very angry. I could sense his bitterness and when i checked the place where he peed before there it was... A pool.

I was so angry. To show him i dipped his front paws inside the urine and rushed him to the bathroom and put his paws under running water ( he hates this) . I was trying to show him if he does it again, this will be the punishment but i am not sure if it will help.

Since i read in this site that cats hate aluminum foil, i put aluminum foil where he peed to prevent him from stepping there but i guess he stepped on it so maybe he doesn't hate foil so much?

Another thing is i put air freshener to get the smell out of that place but it doesn't help.

Do you think this is a behavioural problem as i am thinking or can there be another problem? If it's behavioral what can i do to treat this?

How can i make sure if this is a medical problem?What are the symptoms of a health problem?

Please help, i am sick of smelling urine inside my house and having to clean up a pool of pee every day.

[Sara luvs her Tinky]

Sorry I HAVE NO IDEA....
GOOD LUCK though... maybe someone will have some good advice...
I have heard this though... is Karamel peeing in the same spot? If he is move his litter box over that spot and see if he uses it then .... if he does than gradually move it to the spot you want it.

[Nomilynn]

When Bassett was peeing out of behavioural problems the vet put her on an antidepressant. It stopped the problem COMPLETELY.. she was on it for less than three months. It's called Apo-Amitriptyline. Also, where is he peeing? Is it on a space that you occupy a lot? That would suggest that it is behavioural rather than health related. Another thing you can try is putting litter box over the spot that he peed in, or, if that isn't an appropriate space to pee, try putting some food there. It isn't likely he will pee where his food is. How many cats do you have? Next question, how many litter boxes? You might want to try having one more litter box than the number of cats you have. What I mean is if you have one cat, try two boxes, two cats, three boxes, three cats, four boxes etc etc.

I am not understanding what you mean when you say you trained him to pee in a closet?? :confused: If you have trained him it's ok to pee outside a litterbox in one place he may think he can go anywhere. I would definatly encourage him to use the litter exclusively.

As for the smell, well.. cat urine is the most disgusting pet odour I have ever come across. It needs to be cleaned several times before the smell isn't noticable to them, and if he smells his "spot" he will use it again. You might want to try squirting that area with citris (cat's usually hate that) or vinegar.

You said he was 8 months old - is he neutered? That may help as well.

Good luck! I hope my rambling offers some good advice! Please keep us posted! :)

[ganime]

Originally posted by Nomilynn
I am not understanding what you mean when you say you trained him to pee in a closet?? :confused: If you have trained him it's ok to pee outside a litterbox in one place he may think he can go anywhere. I would definatly encourage him to use the litter exclusively.


When i said i tried to train him to use the closet i meant WC, the toilet. I had read somewhere that you can train the cats to use the human toilet but I guess things have gone out of control in my case.

I have only one cat and he is not neutered.

[Nomilynn]

oooh.. ok.. I understand now :) Yes cats can be trained to use toilets.. I've never done it but my parents have a cat that learned to do it on his own! :D

I think you might want to take him to the vet.. they will be able to tell you more about his behaviour.

Good luck! :D

[Lennie B.]

Ganime, I agree that the very first thing you should do is take Karamel to the vet. I suspect that, after physical causes for his behaviour have been treated or ruled out, you'll have to retrain him to the litter box. I also think that you should have him neutered- this will simplify things for both of you.

[krazyaboutkatz]

Yes, you should have him neutered. This will usually help. To help get rid of the urine smell, you can go to your local pet store and buy something there. I briefly had a cat that sprayed and I bought some of this I think it was called "Nature's Miracle" and this took the odor out of whatever was peed on. You should also have the vet check him out to be sure it isn't a physical problem. Good luck. Please keep us posted.

[KittenCloudSprinkles]

Well you can try what Sara Luvs Her Tinky suggested or this:

Put him in a small room with his food, water,bed, and LB. Then shut the door and leave him in there for a day. The next morning check on him see if he peed outside the LB. If he did spray him with water keep doing that till about for a month or two or a couple weeks after he pees in the LB. Now let him out and put the LB whereever. Now if he starts peeing outside the LB again put all his stuff back in the little room. Repeat this until he uses the LB no matter what.

Or before he goes to the bathroom, scoop him up and drop himin the LB.

this sounds a bit drastic to me ...... sure the cat won't think you do not love it anymore ??????????????
:(

[Former User]

Originally posted by KittenCloudSprinkles
Well you can try what Sara Luvs Her Tinky suggested or this:

Put him in a small room with his food, water,bed, and LB. Then shut the door and leave him in there for a day. The next morning check on him see if he peed outside the LB. If he did spray him with water keep doing that till about for a month or two or a couple weeks after he pees in the LB. Now let him out and put the LB whereever. Now if he starts peeing outside the LB again put all his stuff back in the little room. Repeat this until he uses the LB no matter what.

Or before he goes to the bathroom, scoop him up and drop himin the LB.

I don't think this is a good idea... Especially to spray him with a water. He can't understand why you spray him with the water!!!

Maybe after Karamel has eaten, put him in the litterbox. And same thing in the morning when he wakes up, and anytime he wakes up. Good luck and keep us posted!

[gini]

I agree with Lut and Casper and Kitty. If you spray him with water - you have to do it right when you are catching him in the act. Otherwise, he doesn't understand why he is being sprayed or punished.

Are there other cats outdoors that he can see? This might be a territorial thing - and he is spraying (marking) his territory.

Having him neutered will help - and the sooner you do it the better.

Good luck, I feel for you, as I have had the same problems over the years.

[Uabassoon]

I think having him neutered will help a lot. Most (not all) male cats who aren't fixed will spray, and from the male unneutered cats I've encountered no amount of training will really help much. When male cats spray it's usually a teritorial issue. Try neutering him and see if it helps.

[manthyra]

Be sure to clean the spot where he did spray really well, is the airfreshener working? There's a green apple product or something out there especially for pet odors you might want to try. If it still smells like a litterbox, it's probably going to be used as a litterbox again :(

And yes, as the other posters said, do get him neutered. The spraying is something lots of male cats will do, and it will often stop if you get him neutered in time. The older a cat is when you neuter him, the more chance the problem will continue.